Remembering Love
by Krazy Ky-Sta Hatter
Summary: Emma doesn't believe in the curse. But when David gets back his memories of being Prince James, she ends up with four boys, all ready to help her. If only she weren't so stubborn. Maybe, with their help, she COULD beat the evil queen! But can they stay sane doing it? James / Mary Margret, Graham / Emma and all our other favourite characters!
1. The Glint of a Unicorn

_**Hey everyone! I know, a story that isn't Doctor Who. It's a miracle! I don't think I haven't written anything non Doctor Who in a year!**_

_**But now I seem to be going through a bit of a Once Upon a Time phase. Oh, don't worry. I'm still writing all the Doctor Who stories.**_

_**I did this one because every time I watched 'The Shepherd' I just kept expecting that he may get his James memories back, especially during that scene in Mr Gold's shop. But alas, it was not to be.**_

_**But here is what I think would have happened if David Nolan remembered who he truly was.**_

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**The Glint of a Unicorn**

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David pushed open the door of the pawnshop in frustration. Had that woman purposefully given him wrong directions? She hadn't seemed every pleased that he had chosen Mary Margret over Kathryn.

…But it had just felt wrong. He didn't love Kathryn. Everything just seemed so unreal. All those people at the party… he hadn't known any of them. Didn't even _feel_ like he'd _ever_ known any of them. There were only faint impressions of people… people he had apparently never met before now.

Okay, yeah, Kathryn did seem familiar, but not in the way she should have. Archie Hopper, the man treating him in therapy, trying to help him remember, he seemed familiar too. So did the Mayor, only he didn't like or trust her at all for some reason. Heck, he even felt like he knew the deputy, and she'd only just arrived in town!

"Hello?" he called into the empty shop. A little cold and still seeking help, he entered. If it was open, then the owner had to be here, right? "Hello?" he called again.

While waiting a moment, he began to look around. Like all pawnshops - or what he supposed all pawnshops were like - the place was filled with the queerest collection of items. A pair of wooden puppets, that quite frankly scared him. A set of tea cups and many other random bits and bobs.

But what caught his eye, was a beautiful mobile. The wiring was a pretty, bright silver in colour. On each string of blue crystal drops, hung a small, delicate crystal unicorn. Each unicorn was perfect in detail and some had blue crystal on the inside. It seemed so… familiar.

Curiously he reached up a hand and lightly touched one of the completely clear unicorns…

"Charming," a voice startled him. The word was so captivating… it was as if someone had called his name.

"I'm sorry?" he said, spinning around to face the man. Gold. This man must be Mr Gold… He seemed familiar too.

"The mobile," he said, nodding to it. "Isn't it charming? Exquisitely designed, masterfully crafted… I can get it down, if you like."

"No! No, I mean, it's… It's very nice, but actually, I'm looking for the Toll Bridge. The Mayor said there was a fork in the road by your shop, but…"

"It seems Miss Mills had led you astray," Mr Gold said, sounding slightly suspicious. David had to admit, he was suspicious himself.

"Yeah," he said. "Yeah, you would think the Mayor would know her own town."

"One would think," Mr Gold said. After a short pause, he seemed to take pity on him. "Out of the door, turn right, two blocks you'll find a trail. Can't miss it."

"Thank you," he replied turning to leave. But his attention was caught once again by the mobile. He found himself walking over to look at it again, almost as if in a dream.

"Are you sure you wouldn't like me to get that down for you?" Gold asked.

"No, I… Where did you get it?"

"That old thing? That's been gathering dust for… Oh, twenty eight years."

"I think… this belonged to me," he said quietly. He reached up and touched one of the blue unicorns. He almost gasped as a torrent of memories flooded his mind.

This mobile… hanging above the crib of their unborn child. Snow, his wife, so worried about what would happen to them, her hand resting on the swell of her belly. All of the trials they had faced to get to where they were. His life as a simple shepherd boy. The night the curse came… The night his daughter was born.

At the same time he seemed to get a different set of memories. The memories of David Nolan. Born and raised in Storybrooke, a life with his wife, Kathryn. But he knew which ones were true.

"And what makes you think that?" Gold asked, his voice now horribly familiar.

"Because I remember." Prince James turned to face the man, now knowing who he truly was.

"Well, it's about time," the strange human Rumplestiltskin grinned. Ah, that grin hadn't changed much.

He didn't get it. He didn't understand what was going on here. He knew the curse separated people and stopped their happy ever after… But where the hell were they? It was then he realised something very important.

"Snow…"

"Doesn't have a clue who she really is," Rumplestiltskin said walking around from behind his counter. He seemed oddly calmer than every time he'd seen him. Less insane. "It's part of the curse, Dearie. No one remembers who they are… well, aside from a select few."

"How come I do?" he asked in confusion.

"Well, the only thing strong enough to break any curse is True Love…" He cocked his head to the side. "It just so happens, that with your help, I managed to bottle some. I had the foresight enough to put just a drop of it in the glass when the glassblower came to me searching for the most beautiful glass in the land for him to turn into crystal. Poor fellow didn't quite understand why I told him the payment was already made."

"Snow… I'm meeting her now. I've got to go wake her up," he said frantically, starting to rush from the store. But the once completely evil man's voice stopped him.

"You can't."

James rounded on him. "Why not?" he growled.

"You can't force her to remember, you'll chase her away," Rumplestiltskin said as if it were obvious. "You have to let her remember on her own."

"She's my wife!" he shouted.

"She should be, yes. But this is a different reality. In this world, she doesn't know that. She's just Miss Mary Margret Blanchard. A sweet, innocent school teacher. If you want to find someone who can help, talk to your grandson."

Grandson… he didn't have a grandson. Heck, he didn't even know where his _daughter_ was!

"Why should I trust you?" he asked. "Why are you helping me? I know what you're like. There's always a price."

"The advice is free, Dearie," he sniggered. "Besides, I'll get what I want in the end… You had better leave, Charming… you're going to be late."

James looked over at a grandfather clock standing not far away. Rumplestiltskin was right, if he didn't hurry, he would miss her. With a quick nod, he left the shop and ran.

.oO*Oo.

Absolutely freezing, Mary Margret pulled her small pink cardigan around her. She had been standing out here for a long time. She didn't understand it. _He_ had asked _her_ here. So where was he? Had he changed his mind?

She had to face it, he wasn't coming. And so, with a heavy heart, she turned to walk away. But just then she saw him jogging up the path.

"Cutting it close," she accused. "I was about to leave."

"Sorry," he puffed, bending over slightly and supporting himself on his knees, trying to catch his breath. "I got - lost, - misdirected, - and stuck in - a conversation - with Mr Gold. - I am not as fit as I used to be," he muttered the last part in one breath.

"Did you run all the way here?" she said in disbelief. James nodded vigorously, still not quite able to speak. "Wow."

Once he had regained his breath a little, he straightened up. When he saw Snow - no, she was Mary Margret. He had to remember that - When he saw Mary Margret shiver, he pulled off his jacket and draped it around her shoulders."

"Oh, no, I couldn't," she protested. "You'll get sick or something. I've already got a jumper."

"I've just run a long way and I'm wearing a long sleeve shirt. I'm warm enough. You're going to freeze in that tiny dress and cardigan!"

Shyly, she fiddled with the edge of the jacket and smiled. "Thank you," she said.

James smiled back and took a moment to just drink her in. She was different, that was for sure. But she was still his Snow. She seemed shyer, more innocent than before. Her hair was so short; it was hardly longer than his. He liked it better long, but he wasn't about to complain when she was right here with him.

"What?" she asked self-consciously, noticing how he was staring at her.

"You're beautiful," he said simply. He watched in delight as a delicate blush spread across her cheeks. "Come on, let's walk."

He put his hand near hers; just letting them brush, and smiled when she automatically took it. Feeling the cold band of a ring, he looked down. It was his mother's ring, the ring he had given to Snow when he asked for her hand.

"Where did you get that ring?" he asked. He was almost surprised that he naturally used this place's natural speech patterns.

"This?" she tired to raise her hand to show it, but ended up raising both their hands when he didn't let go. "I've had it for years. I never actually take it off." This made him smile.

"I remember," he blurted out stupidly, after a moment. He winced as the smile fell form her face.

"Kathryn?"

"All of it," he replied. He could feel how tense she was. "But it doesn't change anything. I still choose you. I can remember loving her, but it still feels like it was another person, not me. So I'm doing what's right by all of us. I'm following my heart."

He grinned when the smile once again lit up his wife's face. "Well then, perhaps I should follow mine," she said quietly. They had stopped walking now, and hesitantly she leaned up to him. Not wanting to overstep any boundaries, he kissed her back gently, letting her decide when to move it along. It was harder than he expected. He had her back in his arms, after so long. Their last kiss still lingered in his mind as he took their baby from her arms and ran from the room. He remembered hearing her sobs follow him down the hall…

He shook himself out of that thought. Their daughter must be back if the curse was beginning to break.

"So," Mary Margret said. "Why here? When you woke up. What were you looking for out here?"

"I'm… I'm not sure," he replied. He honestly didn't remember much of that event. "I don't get how I managed to make my way down here. Yet I had to ask Regina for directions today!"

"Let me guess, she's the one who gave you the wrong direction," she said in annoyance.

"What did you expect? She's an evil witch."

This made Mary Margret laugh. "You sound like Henry," she laughed.

"The Mayor's son?" he said in confusion. "He thinks his own mother is an evil witch?"

"Well," Mary Margret started. "A few months back I gave him this book. 'Once Upon a Time'. It's a collection of interlinking fairytales. I knew he was struggling at home and wanted to help him see that it was possible to have a happy ending. To give him hope. Then he started believing that everyone in town is a character from the book. He even went out and found his birthmother."

"So… Regina isn't his real mother?"

"No. No," she smiled. "His mother is my flatmate, Emma."

James froze. Emma. Emma was her flatmate. He knew that Deputy Swan's name was Emma, but he had been so dazed and bewildered by waking up and then getting his memories back that he had not paid enough attention to her to put the pieces together. His daughter, their beautiful baby girl, was the feisty blonde deputy!

…And Henry was his grandson. Gold had said to talk to his grandson. Henry knew about the curse. Gold could remember. Who else knew about it? Who else could remember?

"So… Henry doesn't like Regina?" he asked.

"No," Mary Margret said. "He's convinced she's the evil queen. But he's been pulling away for years. And now he's stuck on the middle of all this… But he's a strong, imaginative boy. He's so sweet."

"Is he in your class?"

"Yep… So… What are we going to do now?" she asked him. He knew what she meant. Even now as David Nolan and Mary Margret Blanchard, their lives were complicated.

"First," he replied. "I think that now I've got my memories back, Kathryn deserves a proper explanation."

.oO*Oo.

James pressed the doorbell and waited for Kathryn to open the door. It was strange having all this knowledge in his head. Knowledge of a different world that he really shouldn't. The cars, which may have scared him had he simply come here, seemed more than normal to him.

Although, what was stranger, was going to visit his 'wife', who in his reality had been the betrothed he never married.

A few seconds later the door swung open and she stood there. She was Abigail in every detail. Only, he found from these memories, that she was more like the Abigail he knew towards the end. The Abigail who was less stuck up and self-centered. The Abigail who was begging him to save her beloved Fredrick. Idly, he wondered where Fredric was in this world.

"Hi," he said softly.

"Hello," she replied, her voice a little terse. But what had he expected. He _had_ left her.

"I just… thought that I owed you a reasonable explanation. I know you probably don't want to hear it, but I want… I just want to set things right," he told her.

Kathryn sighed, knowing this was against her better judgement. "Come in," she told him. they walked in, in awkward silence. She led him to the couch and they sat down. It took a moment longer for him to speak, since it seemed she didn't want to.

"I, ah… I got my memory back," he started. "Everything. But um, it just showed me that… that person wasn't me. I don't know what it is, but it's almost like all that is a completely different life. I… I don't want to _be_ that person…" This was harder than he thought. He had no idea how to explain it to her. He was trying to be as honest as he could, but it wasn't easy when he had to hide the truth at the same time.

"I'm sorry. I know I… I can remember what it was like before. I can remember that we were in a bad place when I left. You thought I was leaving you, but I wasn't. I just needed time. But then I had my accident and… ended up with a lot more time then I expected…"

Twenty-eight years. He had been in a coma for twenty-eight years.

"But something's changed. I just…"

"Fell in love," she supplied for him. She didn't sound mad or patronising… just accepting. He looked up at her stunned. "It's okay," she told him, her voice betraying her as it wobbled slightly. She tried to put on a smile, but it was fairly half-hearted. "I've seen the way you look at Mary Margret, David. Truth be told, I'm not even sure why I'm so upset. It's been two years and I just…" She stopped and took a deep breath. "I saw the way you look at her… the way she looks at _you_. And I realised… that has never been us. And I want… I want someone to look at me the way you look at her. I want you to be happy. I want _us_ to be happy… but, I don't think we can do that together anymore." James took her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. "I want you to be with her," she nodded, like she was agreeing herself. "It - it may hurt me now, but really… it's better for us. You should be with the person you love. And that's not me anymore."

James didn't say anything. He knew that right now she was trying to keep it together and saying something might push her over the edge. Instead he just pulled her into his arms and gave her a hug. It wasn't long after that that he left. Both giving each other a reassuring smile.

Taking a deep breath, Charming began his walk back to Granny's. He knew that he had a lot to do. He had to help Emma with her destiny. Had to help bring down the Evil Queen. And most importantly, he had to help snow remember.

So first, he had to talk to his grandson, Henry.


	2. Helping the Huntsman

**Helping the Huntsman**

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James watched as the boy sat at the old rickety castle playground. He had spent the morning with Mary Margret, and he had found out that Henry had a secret spot. His castle. It was very appropriate.

With a smile, he went and sat next to his grandson. The book Mary Margret had mentioned was sitting open on his lap. The boy smiled at him.

"Hi, David," he chirped. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to speak to you," he told him. "About your book."

"What about it?" he asked cautiously, starting to close the cover.

"Well, I just wanted to know if you had a safe place to hide it from the evil queen. There may be things in there that she doesn't know about that she could use against us."

"You… You believe in the curse!" Henry cried in delight.

"A little more than believe," he laughed. "But I thought, you know about the curse, you seem to be trying to do something about it. So I thought I would try and help my grandson with his quest."

A brilliant grin lit up the boy's face. "You remember!" he cried quietly in delight. Then he threw his arms around James's neck, almost pushing him over.

"Whoa, hey, careful there, Kid." Laughing, he placed Henry back down beside him. "Alright, what have you got so far?"

"Well, we've got Operation Cobra."

"Cobra?"

"It's to throw people off. If we said Operation Fairytale, it would be too obvious."

"Ah, good plan."

"At the moment, I'm just trying to get people to remember or find each other. Oh, and get Emma to believe me."

"She doesn't believe in the curse?" he said, worry creeping into his voice.

"I think that she pretends to, for me. But she doesn't really."

"Well, pretending is a start. Does anyone else know?"

"Well, there's obviously you now," Henry started. "Dr Hopper, he's Jiminy Cricket by the way, but I don't think he believes either. Same with Mary Margret. Don't need to tell you who she is."

"Snow."

"I'm pretty sure the Evil Queen remembers… and that's about it."

"Alright, then you can add Mr Gold to that list."

"Mr Gold can remember?" James nodded. "Who is he, I never figured it out."

"He's Rumplestiltskin," he replied.

Henry's eyebrows rose and he nodded thoughtfully. "That makes sense. Rumplestiltskin makes deals; Mr Gold likes making deals. And he remembers because he's the one who created the curse."

"But Regina made the-"

"No, she just got the curse_ off_ him. I've read through the whole book. It says that he lost his son to this world. He must be looking for him. But to get the curse to work, you needed to kill the thing you love the most. And he had no one… Except Belle… Which is why he sent her away!" he realised.

"Slow down there, you're losing me."

"To make the curse work, you had to kill someone you love and use their heart. Rumplestiltskin had no one left. Then, as part of a deal, he got Belle as a housemaid. But he ended up falling in love with her, and she for him. When she kissed him, he sent her away. I'll bet anything it's because he realised he loved her and didn't want to hurt her. Probably why he wanted Cinderella's baby too, so he'd be able to raise someone he could love and kill…"

"But the curse happened not long after that deal," James told him. "Snow was already pregnant well before then. I wouldn't let her come with me to capture the imp."

"Maybe he just wasn't sure if Regina would do it," Henry shrugged. "Maybe the baby was just a back up. Why else would he want a baby?"

"Mmm, yeah. I can't really see Rumplestiltskin being the baby raising type."

"So I can count you in on operation cobra?" Henry asked excitedly. James nodded. "Great! Then first we need to get Emma to believe. She may not believe me, because I'm just a kid. But you're an adult, she'll believe you!"

"I'm not so sure of that," he disagreed gently. "She's too much like her mother. Too damn stubborn. I've just come out of a coma; she'll probably think I've gone mental."

"Then what do we do?"

"We've got to be subtle about it. _Show_ her that it's real."

"Last time I looked for proof, I ended up in a sink hole," Henry said dejectedly.

James laughed. How typical of someone in his family. "Well then, we'll just have to look for proof in safer places." He ruffled the boy's hair playfully. "I'm going to Granny's. See if I can spot anyone else I know."

"Yeah, I have to go to my session with Archie soon," Henry said. He jumped up and put the book in his bag. "It's good to have you back, Charming," he grinned. Then he raced off to his bike, leaving James behind, smiling.

.oO*Oo.

James looked about the room and smiled when he recognised another person. Well, in this case, finally figured out _how_ he recognised him. He looked down at the notebook he had.

_Snow - Mary Margret. A school teacher.  
Queen Regina - Regina. Mayor. (Remembers.).  
Rumplestiltskin - Mr Gold. Owns the town and a pawnshop. (Remembers).  
Abigail - Kathryn. David's wife.  
Jiminy - Archie Hopper. Shrink.  
Granny - still Granny. Owns a B&B.  
Red - Ruby. Waitress. Still wears a lot of red.  
Sneezy - Mr Clark. Store owner. Constantly seems to have a cold.  
Grumpy - Leroy. Town drunk._

And then he wrote down the newest person he recognised.

_Magic Mirror - Sidney Glass. Reporter for the Mirror._

"I'm starting to see a pattern here," he muttered. He looked around again. There had to be _someone_ else he recognised. As the drunken sheriff turned around, he found that he_ did_ recognise him… Yes, but from where? Like the Mirror, he probably wouldn't have seen him often.

He thought back… where had he seen that face? When he was escaping? Yes, that was it. It was one of Regina's guards who had killed the other one and helped him escape. He'd said that he'd given up his heart in place of Snows. Later Snow had told him that he was a huntsman… That was all anyone knew about him.

_Huntsman - Graham. Sheriff._

He scrawled on the notebook. He had no idea how he was going to wake all these people up. But he knew that somehow, his daughter would. They just had to figure out how… And speaking of which, get her to believe.

He watched as Graham threw two darts at the board, both hitting the deer in the center. He had obviously lost none of his skill, coming to this world.

"Nice shot, chief," Sidney said to him. "I bet you twenty bucks you can't do it again." Defiantly, Graham took another shot of alcohol - not helping with his intoxicated state - picked up the next dart, and threw. It hit the deer bang on the nose. Sidney's face fell.

"Next round's on him," Graham told Ruby. He picked up the next dart and was about to throw when Emma stepped in. She froze on the spot, although, he got the feeling it had nothing to do with the dart aimed at her head.

James just stared at her. This was the first time since he remembered, the first time since he realised who this woman was, that he had actually seen her. She had beautiful long blonde hair, much like the colour his had been as a child. And she had her mother's gorgeous green eyes, only they had a slight blue tinge to them… But at the moment they were set in a scowl.

"Emma!" Ruby said happily. "What can I get you?"

"Nothing," she growled. Then she stalked past them, right towards the front door, despite the fact she had only just arrived through the back. But she was stopped when a dart suddenly stuck in the door frame, inches from her face.

At first James was furious. Was Graham _trying _to kill his daughter? But then he realised, even when he was drunk, he was a very good aim. If he had wanted to hurt Emma, he could have. He was just trying to stop her from leaving. And he had succeeded.

"What the hell?" Emma cried in indignant shock, tuning to face the offender. "You could have hit me!"

"I never miss," he told her with a shrug, walking towards her. He walked right past Sidney, who sat with a twenty held up. "You've been avoiding me," he stated, "since last night, when you saw me-"

"Leaving the Mayor?" Emma snapped. "And yes, that is a euphemism. I'm not avoiding you, Graham, I just have no interest in having this conversation. It's your life. I really don't care."

Almost dejectedly, she turned and left the dinner. Graham sighed in frustration a moment, running his hand through his mop of curly hair before sprinting out the door after her. There was a moment of silence, everyone just staring after them.

"Alright, that's it," Leroy was the first to break it. He pushed a twenty on the bench. "I'm in. Put me down for sometime this week."

"This week?" Sidney laughed. "Did you not just hear them? She just found out he's sleeping with the Mayor. I want to push my bet back now."

"Oh, please!" Leroy scoffed. "You couldn't cut the tension between those two with a sledge hammer, that's how thick it is!"

"I'm with Leroy," someone he recognised as Sleepy called out before attempting to stifle a yawn. "Put me down for the next two days."

"Erm… I'm sorry, what's this?" James asked in bewilderment.

"Bets." Ruby said brightly. "It's a small town. We place bets when something exciting_ finally_ happens. There's been a lot about Emma. The one they're on about, how long until those two finally get together."

"What?" he cried.

"Half the town's already placed a bet. I swear, those two are like… the only ones who _haven't _noticed they've got a thing for each other."

"…Right," he said.

"You wanna chip in?"

"No. No, I'm good thanks," he told her.

"Suit yourself," she shrugged.

This… this was something he hadn't expected to deal with for some time. Suitors to his daughter. Of course, he realised that this was a different day and age. And she was twenty-eight. Relationships were not like they were back in his world. And she already had a son. But even so, it was strange for him. He knew that Snow, however, would be supporting it wholeheartedly.

Sighing at how complicated his life had become, he placed money on the table and headed up to his room.

.oO*Oo.

"David! David!" He looked up at the sound of his name being called to see Henry running up the path towards them.

"Hey, kid, what's up?" he asked. He noticed the look of distress on his face as he screeched to a halt before him and Mary Margret.

"Urgent Operation Cobra!" he panted. "It's Sheriff Graham."

"Yeah, he's been acting odd all day," Mary Margret commented. "He had this horrible fever and kept asking me if… if we knew each other in a past life or if he'd ever tried to hurt me. He seemed really jumpy."

"He was just at my house," Henry told them. "He wanted to know if he was in the book, and he was saying things about one of the characters before I even showed him. I think he's the Huntsman."

"And you think he remembers?" James asked sceptically, putting on the façade for Mary Margret's sake.

"Yes! And then after he left, I saw him talking to my mom - Emma. And then there was this wolf, and they ran after it!"

"A wolf!" Mary Margret cried in disbelief. "Are you sure it was a wolf? There are no wolves in Storybrooke… This doesn't sound good."

"No, it doesn't," he said. "Emma sounds like she could do with some help. Mary Margret, do you have her number?"

"Um, yeah, of course," she said in bewilderment, pulling her phone out and showing him the number he was after. Quickly he typed the number into his own phone and pressed call. The phone rung a few times before she picked up.

"Hello?" Emma said breathlessly, as if she were running.

"It's me, David. Emma, are you still with Graham?"

"If I can catch up to him, yeah," she puffed. "We saw this _wolf_ and he just took off after it! I thought there _were _no wolves in Storybrooke!"

"Where are you now?"

"I think we're heading for… the cemetery?"

"I'll be there soon," he told her, then hung up. He turned to the rest of his family. "I've got to go help Emma. Henry, stay with Sn- Mary Margret." He bent and gave quick kiss to the woman in question before heading off to his car. Behind him, Mary Margret opened her mouth to say something, but she was so utterly confused as to what was going on that she couldn't even call out his name or say goodbye.

"It's okay," Henry told her. "He's Prince Charming. He always saves the day." This only got him another indulgent look, but he didn't care. He had proof that the curse existed. He had someone on his side.

.

The sun had set by the time James got to the cemetery, but it wasn't quite dark yet. He only just had enough light left to see where he was going in the dusk. He wandered around until he found a mausoleum. The symbol on the front was familiar, but the give away was that the door had been kicked open and he could hear voices inside and see the sweep of torch light.

He headed towards the light as it became darker. The sound of him coming in must have startled them because they both jumped a mile in the air.

"It's only me," he calmed them. Emma smiled at him in relief, but Graham completely ignored him.

"There has to be _something_," he growled frantically.

Emma placed a hand to his chest and stopped him. "Graham. Hey. Graham, there's nothing in here," she said softly. The two of them were standing so close their noses were almost touching.

"There has to be," he said. "If there isn't, then-"

"It's okay," she soothed. "It's going to be okay."

"What the hell do you think your doing?" a voice called to them from outside. All three of them cringed in response as they peered out the door to face the last person they wanted to see.

"What are you doing here?" Emma asked Regina as they exited the crypt.

"Brining flowers to my father's grave like I do every Wednesday," Regina exclaimed, slightly raising the bouquet of peace lilies in her hand.

"Don't blame them," Graham defended, walking closer to her. "It was my fault. I wanted to look in there."

"Really? Why? What were you looking for?" Regina asked, puzzled. James opened his mouth ready to cut over Graham and make something up on the spot if need be.

"Nothing," Graham said. "It was, uh… it was nothing." Smart man. He and Emma moved to flank him and support him.

"You don't look well, dear. Let's take you home." She grabbed his arm and went to drag him away, but he yanked his arm free.

"I… I don't want to go home," he told her harshly. "Not with you."

"Oh? But you'll go with her?" she said snidely. The last part sounded more like a statement.

"Hey," Emma said quickly. "This is between you two. Leave me out of it."

"She's right," Graham said. "It's between us. And things have to change."

"And I wonder why that is all of a sudden," Regina sneered, looking pointedly at Emma. James wanted to defend his daughter, but Emma was right. It was just between the two of them, no matter how much the evil woman tried to drag Emma into it.

"It has nothing to do with her," he said forcefully. "You know, I've realised that I don't feel anything, Regina. And I know now it's not me. It's you."

"So you're leaving me for her."

"I'm leaving you for me," he told her. Both James and Emma were so proud of him in that moment. James even more so, considering who he was speaking to… only that just made fear creep in at the edge of his mind. Regina didn't like this one bit… what would she do to him?

"Graham, you're not thinking straight," she tried to reason.

"Actually, for the first time, I am. I would rather have nothing then settle for less. _Nothing_ is better than what we have. I need to feel something, Regina. And the only way to do that is to give myself a chance."

"Graham-" she begged, placing her hand on his chest.

"I'm sorry. It's over," he told her firmly, taking her hand away and stepping back. She just looked at him stunned for a moment before turning to Emma.

"I don't know what I ever did to you, Miss Swan, to deserve this." James had to hold in a disbelieving snort. "To have you keep coming after everything I hold dear."

"I told you, it's not her," Graham said, starting to get angry.

"None of this happened until _she_ got here!"

"Hey, that's a little unfair, don't you think?" James said.

"I'm sorry," Emma said levelly. "But did you ever stop to think that maybe the problem isn't with _me_, but with you?"

"Excuse me?"

"Henry came and found _me_," she said, walking around the two men and closer to the evil queen. "Graham kissed _me_. Both were miserable. Maybe, Madam Mayor, you need to take a good look in the mirror and ask yourself why that is. Why is everyone running away from you?"

Suddenly Regina stormed forward and punched Emma so hard that she fell into Graham, knocking them both into the ground.

"Regina!" Graham admonished from the dirt. James was furious. He made to get back at her on behalf of his daughter. To protect her. But Emma was strong and she bet him to it. And she didn't stop with one punch; she grabbed Regina and rammed her up against the side of the crypt.

"Stop!" Graham cried. James was all for anything that bought the queen down, but he was starting to see how this was going to get _very_ ugly. "Stop! Stop!" He managed to pull a struggling Emma off the other woman just before she took another hit. James went to help settle her down. Emma shrugged them off and paced a moment while Regina bent to pick up the flowers she's dropped.

"Not worth it," Emma said as she walked past Regina.

"Graham…" Regina tried. But he ignored her and followed after Emma. After a glare from the Evil Queen, James followed.

When they reached the edge of the cemetery, James got a horrible feeling. Graham was certain that his heart was in the vault by the sound of things. Was it really wise to leave her back there? He began patting down his pockets as obviously as he could.

"Crap," he said making the other two turn to him. "I dropped my phone back at the mausoleum." Emma gave him an odd look. But he ignored it and pulled his keys out of his pocket, careful not to let them see the phone. "Here," he tossed them the keys. "Take Emma back to the station and fix her up."

"But, I left my bug outside the Mayor's house," she said.

"I'll drive it back for you."

"Thanks," she smiled wearily. "Keys are on the seat."

With a nod, he turned and went back the way he came. As he got closer to the mausoleum, he saw Regina go inside, a determined look on her face. He watched quietly from outside as she closed the door. Going up closer, he pressed his ear to the door. For a moment he could hear nothing… Then came the sound of stone grating against stone.

He waited a moment longer before daring to peek through the door. Opening it just a crack, he looked in. Regina was no where in sight… And the stone coffin in the middle of the room had been pushed to the side to reveal a set of stairs.

Quietly as he could, he crept down and followed the sound of footsteps through the extensive catacombs. As they came into a larger room, he just saw Regina go through another door. But this room had lots of things inside. Just for safety, he grabbed a vase from a shelf and hid at the door.

Regina had stopped now. While he had been grabbing the vase, she had grabbed a box from somewhere. She had her back to him, but even from here he could see the bright red crystal like thing she pulled from the box. A heart…

The words of the Huntsman resounded in his head. "…_I cannot. I gave up my heart so that the Queen would spare Snow's. Don't let my sacrifice be in vain._"

A heart. Graham's heart.

Seeing Regina's fingers prepare to clench, and knowing it could mean nothing good, he snuck up behind her. As he got closer, she heard his footsteps and turned. But she never quite made it, because before she could, he smashed the vase around her head, knocking her out cold.

Carefully he picked up Graham's heart, and with one last look at the unconscious woman, left.

.

.

.

* * *

_**=D Now, I'm hoping you all know what that means? We gonna keep our Graham. We gonna keep our Graham!**_

_**Seriously, that was the worst part of the entire show. It broke my hearts. He was one of the best characters and they killed him off so early! It wasn't fair! Yup, as you can guess, I'm a huge Emma / Graham (Or Swan Hunter, or whatever you want to call it) shipper.**_

_**Already almost finished the next chapter. Also half way through the first chapter of another OUaT fic that's set post season 1. And After a HUGE writers block, I've finally started on the 'Blink' based chapter for 'The Invisible Rose'. The second part of 'The Unquiet Dead' is slowly getting there. I'm up to the basement scene, just not too sure how to do Rose in this part. But I'll get there. Constantly writing on all my work breaks.**_

_**So hold on for more of everything you love!**_


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